What Comes With a Crown
by Stadtfeld
Summary: Life was pleasant for Kise Ryouta. A model, a star athlete, adored by everyone around him – what more could one ask for? But things take an unexpected turn when his dark past comes back to haunt him, and it seems that there is more to the boy than anyone could have known.
1. Chapter 1

**AUTHOR'S NOTE**

Let me just state first that, when reading this fic, take it as an alternate universe type of thing. The characters are friends, currently in the same high school and basketball team, so whatever rivalries exist in the manga do not apply here.

Also, characterizations will follow the early Teikou era (to an extent), since that was the time where they were all together and happy and whatnot.

One last thing - this is mostly friendship between the whole team, but there is a stronger, implied bond between Aomine and Kise. This fic was originally intended to be an AoKise fic but then as I wrote it, it just became a more _Kise and friends_ type of thing. So, if you were hoping for some really hardcore AoKise stuff and don't want to read anything else, I suggest you stop here. If you despise AoKise with a passion and cannot stand any form of interaction between them, also stop here.

That will be it for now.

* * *

**CHAPTER ONE**

The weather was cool and fairly sunny – the perfect day to be outdoors. A gentle breeze blew across as two figures lay on the grassy slope to the side of a basketball court. One of them had dark blue eyes and was unusually tan; the other was a blond with fair skin. Both looked worn out and sweat drenched after a game of intense one on one basketball. Their minds however, were anything but.

"Oi, Kise!"

The deep voice, louder than before, brought Kise back to the surface of reality from the depths of his thoughts.

"Were you even listening?" Aomine asked, not bothering to hide his annoyance.

"Ah, sorry. I was just thinking about something. What were you saying?" Kise responded with an apologetic smile.

"Forget it," Aomine said as he waved his hand in dismissal. "It's not that important anyway."

Kise looked at the dark haired boy next to him and shrugged before closing his eyes for rest. A short moment of peaceful silence passed before Aomine spoke again.

"I'm pretty hungry now. Wanna go to the convenience store and get some snacks?" he said eagerly. He'd felt like trying that new brand of ice popsicles since they came out onto the market a week ago.

"Hmm? Oh, sure. You're paying though," Kise said, smiling at the other boy sweetly as though his request didn't make Aomine frown and attempt to calculate how much more it would cost him.

"And you're supposed to be the model with the big pay check," Aomine muttered, picking himself up.

"Well, it wouldn't hurt to treat me once in a while, isn't that right?"

Aomine mumbled again, this time to himself, before grabbing their bags and dropping Kise's on top on the blond, who was still lazing on the grass. He then turned and started walking in the direction of the convenience store.

Kise grinned at the other boy's obvious reluctance to pay, and pushed himself up.

"Okay, okay, fine. I'll use my _big pay check_ to pay this time, but the next time, it's definitely on you, Aominecchi!" Kise said as he caught up to the other boy.

Aomine turned around and grinned. Looks like he managed to change the blond's mind with just a simple grudging act. Sometimes, he felt that Kise was far too kind for his own good, and honestly, it was worrying. But nonetheless, that very kindness was pretty beneficial to him right now, and Aomine decided that maybe he'd leave Kise to his own ways for the time being.

"Hey, why're you grinning? What's so funny?" Kise titled his head and looked curiously at the other boy.

"Nothing. Just hurry up already model! I'm hungry!"

. . .

"Huh, damn model." Aomine muttered as he exited the store with a popsicle in hand – alone. Kise had left in a hurry after receiving a text message, but left Aomine with enough cash to purchase his beloved popsicle. When he had asked the blond where he was going, Kise smiled and told him that the modeling agency had just got a deal for him to shoot for the centrefold in one of those huge fashion magazines, and that he was needed for briefing and discussion immediately.

Aomine yawned as he trudged back to his apartment. It wasn't unusual that Kise frequently left him - or all of them, for that matter - for his job, but that didn't mean he had to like it.

_Oh well_, he thought. _Might as well go home and flip through the latest magazine he'd bought that featured some new shots of Mai-chan_.

. . .

"You're late."

Kise approached the figure seated on a wooden crate; surrounding him were another four boys about his age.

"Yeah, sorry. I was busy," Kise replied, his voice less than apologetic.

"Bastard…" the one that had spoken earlier seemed like he was about to lose his temper at a single sentence, but regained his composure at the last moment. "I hope you haven't forgotten our deal, because you're in no position to do anything I don't agree with," he sneered.

Kise's eyes narrowed. "That's only half true. I could do anything I want if I felt like it."

"Hah! And risk having your precious teammate get hurt? You know, the one you always play one on one with?" His tone mocking, "Try me, model!"

The blond stilled. They really had him in a bind.

"You lay a hand on him - on either of them…" Kise began, his voice threateningly low, "and I will make you pay dearly for it."

"You no longer have any authority around here, blondie! The moment you left us, you were dead."

"It was my choice."

"No, not at all. But now, you _do_ have the choice to help us, or have your _friends_ pay the price."

Kise clenched his fists. There was no way he'd ever help them and risk his whole future, but then again, if he didn't, it was his team – his friends – that would suffer the consequences. Akashicchi, Murasakibaracchi, Midorimacchi, Kurokocchi and Aominecchi… They were important to him, and Kise knew that even though it was extremely risky, he'd have to agree, for their sake.

Kise sighed and mentally berated himself for what he was about to agree to.

"All right, Fukuda," he said, addressing the other boy. "I'll do it, but under one condition," his voice serious. "We do it according to my plan."

"Hah! And why the hell should we do that? You're the only one who has anything to lose, and for all we know, your plan could get us caught!"

"I didn't think you'd be that smart but good job catching on," Kise smirked, "but no, I wouldn't risk getting us caught, seeing as _I'm_ the one with something to lose. My proposal is simply to ensure that we get away with this without hassle. I'm pretty sure I didn't lead you all with anything short of a hundred per cent success rate in all our… _shenanigans_."

Fukuda stopped and considered this. The model did, despite his appearances, have a shrewd and conniving mind that was considerably useful to them, and he acknowledged this, albeit grudgingly.

"Fine," he said finally. "Come up with a plan within the next five days and we'll see. Let me remind you again, that of you try anything funny, things _will_ get ugly."

Kise waved dismissively over his shoulder, already walking away. No need for five days; he'd have a plan by tonight.

. . .

"Ryouta, where are you going? Practice doesn't finish for another hour and a half."

Akashi stared at the blond who was hurriedly packing his belongings.

"Sorry Akashicchi. Something pressing just came up. It won't be too big a problem if I leave now, right?"

Akashi sighed as Kise picked up his bag and slung it over his shoulder, smiling apologetically.

"Fine, but I expect you to make up for this by staying back on another day."

"Ehhh?! Seriously? Akashicchi, so mean!" Kise's shoulders slumped in defeat as he sighed exaggeratedly. Then his head perked up and he smiled cheerfully. "Alright, I'll do it. See you, Akashicchi!"

The captain watched the blond walk out of the gym and smiled at his innocence. Akashi truly worried about what would happen if the boy landed himself in trouble one day, but dismissed that thought. He - his team, all of them would be there for Ryouta. He was sure of that.

. . .

Kise's smile vanished the moment he stepped out of the gym. Today was the day he'd have to go back to his old ways, if only just for a while, and he didn't relish the thought of it. Two years ago, the boy walked out of his old life without a second thought, disbelieving of the saying that your past would always come back to chase you, and he was dead wrong.

Four days ago, Kise had given out the instructions for their heist. Despite being blackmailed into it, he made sure that everything was carefully planned - too much was at risk if anything went wrong. And besides, this _was_ his area of expertise.

. . .

"Kise."

The blond stood up from the steps he was sitting on and looked at the group of six he had instructed for.

"You're all here. Good. Did you get everything I asked for?"

"Right here." One of them walked up to Kise and dumped a bag at his feet.

"And the cars?"

"'Round the corner."

"Alright," he smiled. "Let's go."

. . .

"Twelve more minutes till they hit the end of the highway. Keep up."

Kise put down the handheld radio and resumed his other hand to the wheel. Four cars, two of them in each except his, were moving along the fairly empty highway, headed for the long truck a few kilometers ahead.

"Right guys, time to do this," he spoke into the radio. "Hazuki, you're up first."

"Got it," came the reply.

To his right, one of the cars sped up and passed him, going all the way till it reached the back of the long truck. Kise watched as the boy named Hazuki climbed out of the open hatch in the roof, equipment strapped to his back. His eyes fixed forward intently as Hazuki made his way to the front of the moving vehicle, positioning himself to jump at the right time to latch on safely to the back of the truck.

_At least they're not total idiots_, he thought to himself.

Finally, Hazuki made his move, pushing off with as much strength as he could to ensure that he didn't miss his mark, what with the truck moving in the same direction as his jump. Simple physics, deadly consequences. He caught onto the cat ladder and his body slammed into the metal, dangling for a few seconds before he found his footing on the lower ladder steps.

_Good job_, Kise thought. _Now let's just hope he manages to open the doors without damaging the content._

. . .

Hazuki gritted his teeth as he held onto the moving truck and fumbled for the nozzle strapped to his shoulder. It was attached to a black tube connected to a small tank on his back.

"Trust that blond bastard to task me with this shit," he muttered.

Grabbing hold of the nozzle, he released the contents of the tank onto the iron lock that held the two doors of the container closed. Liquid hydrogen sprayed out onto the bolting agent, making it brittle enough to break. He whipped out a small hammer and positioned it at a suitable angle, before drawing his arm back and bringing the hammer down on the brittle iron, shattering it with the force. He wrenched open the door to his side and swung his leg in, manoeuvring himself from the cat ladder into container.

Seconds later, he stood at the open door and grinned at Kise, whose car had now taken the position of being directly behind the truck, giving him a thumbs up. It was a signal - the loot was there.

"Alright guys, we have the signal. Get in there," Kise spoke into his radio. Smiling slightly, he moved his car slightly to the side to glance toward the front of the truck. The driver hadn't shown any signs of noticing what was going on. That was good, as they'd have to change their plans if an angry trucker was on to them.

In the next few minutes that followed, another two of them had jumped their way into the container. Kise and the remaining drivers slowed down, keeping their distance from the truck.

"There's a turn off to exit the highway coming up in about twelve kilometers. Make it out of there before it - that's where we turn off," Kise instructed.

Right where they turned off was where he was free to go. That was part of the deal, but frankly, he knew that there would be more to that. At the very least, they'd use the same threats to rope him into more of their matters.

* * *

**END NOTE**

I hope this first chapter was okay. It was intended to be shorter, half as short actually, but then I realized that would be too little, so I combined two chapters, and even still it's shorter than most would prefer. Apologies! Hopefully the future chapters will be longer, but that also means the updates will come slower than I had planned. Most likely, there'll be an update every one to two weeks if things go smoothly, but that's just the minimum and it could take longer, so please wait till then!

Also, please note that the character Fukuda in this story is **not** Fukuda Hiroshi from Seirin; they just share the same name because I thought the name sounded appropriate for the character's personality.

Review if you wish, though I strongly encourage it!


	2. Chapter 2

**CHAPTER TWO**

For a few moments, four cars and one truck travelled on the empty highway, the atmosphere surrounding them thick with anticipation.

Suddenly, the other door of the container flung open and a wide piece of metal slid out, acting as a slope. Seconds later, a brightly coloured car reversed out of the container, followed by another two of similar appearance.

Kise glanced at his rear view mirror and saw his associates, their expressions filled with glee in their respective vehicles. Looking back to the front at the three newly acquired vehicles, he couldn't help but feel a sense of accomplishment. This was what had used to fill his life before basketball came in - before he felt any sense of challenge in sports. Committing crimes and mischief, planning them… He succeeded in most of these, and even then, that success lit a fire in him, since they carried greater risks, but also greater rewards. It would be a lie to say he didn't feel remorseful at what he had done in the past, but he sought comfort in the fact that before he had left the underworld life, he'd returned most of what his gang had obtained by abandoning the goods where he was sure they'd be found by officials and returned to their respectful owners, although much to the displeasure of his fellow gang members.

As he turned off at the designated point, Kise received a message on his radio.

"Well, you did quite a good job there blondie."

Kise guessed that the voice belonged to Fukuda.

"You're free to go for now," he continued, "but of course, we'll want you back the next time we do anything like this. Maybe a bank next time, huh?"

Kise grimaced at his smug tone that carried a silent threat.

"Well," he began, "I'd be foolish to think you'd let me go right after this."

A laugh came as a response, followed by a short _see ya_ as he parted from the other cars at the junction.

. . .

Kise drove for almost an hour, wandering aimlessly around after he got back to the inner city. He was lost in his thoughts, furiously calculating all the possibilities that could happen depending on the different ways he took to resolve his dilemma, and all his thoughts arrived back at one, and that was to walk back into his old life and teach them a lesson they'd never forget. However, that would put him back in the toxic environment that he'd left, and Kise had promised himself that he wouldn't resort to such methods the moment he found his new passion in basketball. In his new life, he found friendship, things he would protect, happiness. He did all the right things, and his life only got better from there. Focusing on his modelling work was the sole distraction at one time, but after he found basketball - the sport that brought him a challenge - he left his old ways behind him and swore to never go back.

His followers hadn't been too pleased to watch him go. They felt betrayed, like he was leaving them for a better life - for himself. That was true, and Kise knew it. Some others, however, those who did not see him in a good light from the very beginning, were somewhat overjoyed. One such individual would be Fukuda Jun. He pounced immediately at the chance to fill Kise's role their leader, and Kise didn't object to that.

Someone new to lead them, he thought, would be good for him. They wouldn't hang onto the past and he'd be free. Fukuda was, albeit brash and mostly brawn over brains, a fairly capable leader. He had a tendency to turn towards violence, and had an intimidating aura around those who didn't know any better, which were, considering the context of the situation, not such bad qualities if he had to be honest.

Kise now knew he was being naïve that they would leave him alone. Despite how childish it sounded, he'd read and seen enough stories to know that a dark past would always come back to chase you. Now he was the one being chased after, and he had to find a way to combat, if not outrun it.

. . .

"Oi, Kise! Why'd you leave practice early yesterday?"

Kise looked up at Aomine who was walking towards him.

"Ahh yeah. I told Akashicchi that something came up at work, but I'd make up for the time I missed today," he said, smiling sheepishly with his hand on the back of his head.

"Oh really? Looks like I'll stay behind and practice with you then!"

"You don't have to," Kise started, "but I won't stop you if you want to."

He smiled gratefully at the other boy. Despite his personal struggles with his past, his fondness for Aomine - and, of course, his other teammates - were what held him together. They were what he wanted to protect, the ones he wanted to stay safe and happy no matter what.

"Ryouta, Daiki. Stop standing around. Get to practice already."

The two boys turned around to see their red haired captain standing to the side.

Aomine grinned. "Let's go, Kise!"

Akashi watched the two of them proceed to play one on one and smiled slightly at the thought of a complaining Kise that would emerge soon after. He saw Midorima walk through the gym doors and turned, moving towards his vice-captain. An important match was coming up and there were matters they needed to discuss.

. . .

"Ah man, I'm tired."

Aomine stretched his arms over his head as they walked out the school gates. Turns out, the whole team had stayed back for extra practice, except Midorima who had left for "personal reasons", though everyone suspected it had something to do with an Oha Asa prediction.

"I want to eat," Murasakibara said, his expression detached as usual.

"Well, we could go to the store again; It's late but the store is open twenty four hours a day," Akashi smiled.

They walked, talking cheerily amongst themselves about various topics. It was a usual occurrence - leaving the school as a group and later separating, only after they had visited the convenience store and bought their desired items. Sometimes they left in pairs, like Akashi did with Midorima since they lived near each other, or how Kuroko would leave with Kise when he needed to go somewhere else instead of home, since Kise took the main bus line. Today was one such day.

"See ya, Kise, Tetsu!"

Aomine waved, as did the rest of them as they parted in their separate ways when they left the convenience store. Kuroko and Kise walked along the side of the road on the pathway, which was lit due to the sky getting dark.

"Kise-kun?"

Kise looked up from staring at the pavement as he walked, turning his head to face Kuroko, his expression quizzical.

"Is something bothering you? You seem unhappy," Kuroko noted bluntly.

"Ahh no, everything's fine," Kise said quickly, his right hand waving airily as a sign of dismissal. "I'm just a little tired."

Kuroko nodded. He didn't believe that excuse, but if Kise wanted to talk about a troubling matter, he would - and Kuroko wasn't going to push for it.

. . .

A couple of weeks passed by without any interference from his old gang, and Kise felt slightly hopeful that maybe they'd just let him go, though that was highly doubtful.

Then, the tiny flickering flame of hope he had was reduced to ashes one day when he walked out of school. He noticed a figure standing next to the gates and realized it was someone he knew; someone who was obviously waiting for him. The visitor then turned and started walking, indicating for Kise to follow.

"Ahh, guys, I have to go somewhere else today," he announced. "Go on without me, I'll be heading the other direction."

He turned and followed in the path of the boy, and soon disappeared from sight as he rounded a corner.

"You all," Akashi began, "think Ryouta got himself into some trouble?"

"It must be something to do with that guy standing there just now," Midorima added, and the others murmured in agreement; they had all noticed the stranger.

"Well, it's true that Kise-kun has been acting quite strange lately. I believe agitated would be a good description," Kuroko said, contributing his observations.

Murasakibara stared on blankly as Aomine gave them a puzzled look.

"What? Kise looks like his normal self to me."

Momoi sighed. "That's because all you care about is basketball. When you're playing you don't notice anything different about Ki-chan. Although," she turned back to the others, "Ki-chan's movements have been slower and his plays are not as sharp. It's subtle, but I noticed it."

They walked in silence, each with different variations of the same thoughts. Kise was their friend. He was dear to them. They wanted him to be safe, and if there was any trouble, they would help him. However, they respected him and his choices - if he wanted to stay silent about his matters, they wouldn't intrude.

. . .

The boy walked, his pace slow, and finally stopped below a large, shady tree. He stood, hands in pockets as he waited for Kise to catch up.

"Kise-san," he greeted, when Kise walked up to him soon after.

"Kyouko," Kise returned, expressionless. "And please, drop the _san_."

Kyouko smiled slightly, shaking his head.

"Honorifics should always be used when addressing a respected individual."

A moment of silence passed as they stared at each other. Kyouko was a member of the gang, and Kise tried to think about what he wanted or hoped to accomplish by coming here alone.

"I heard that you were behind the plan for those cars," he said after a while. "I was out of the city for a week, so I wasn't there. Seems the execution was smooth, as expected of you."

Kise nodded. Kyouko wasn't here for small talk - he knew that much.

"Kyouko," Kise started, his tone sharp. "What do you want?"

Kyouko smiled, causing Kise to frown. The smile wasn't something he expected. It didn't look taunting, and it wasn't a smirk or a grin. If anything, it looked sad.

"I came here to tell you that Fukuda is planning to hijack a truck carrying electronics. DVD players, radios… the lot. It's going down in three days, but they were only planning to tell you the night before."

Kise made a sound that seemed like a mixture of a gasp and a frustrated sigh. He frowned intently at a few fallen leaves on the ground, as if they were the source of his frustration.

"Are they stupid? The night before?" Another sigh. "I get that they're trying to make things as hard as possible for me but that's absurd. Trapping me with time might affect my plans and, huh, I can't believe they'd risk getting caught just for that."

Honestly, Kise couldn't help but feel slightly impressed at their - no, Fukuda's - idiocy. He looked up at Kyouko.

"Did they send you here?"

"No. Like I said, they only planned on telling you the night before. I came here on my own."

_Oh, that's right. Why would they send him here if they were planning on making things hard for me?_ Kise closed his eyes briefly and breathed in deep. He couldn't think straight. He needed to clear his head.

"Alright," he said after a few moments. "Why did you come to warn me?"

_Warn. Was that it? Was that what Kyouko was trying to do?_

"Well," the boy tipped his head to the side and looked up, thoughtful. "I just think that you have the right to know. And I also think that what they're doing is wrong. You left us, so they shouldn't drag you back, especially through blackmail."

Kise couldn't help but smile at that. Kyouko had always been slightly different. Ever since the moment he had walked into the warehouse one day two years ago, with an odd determination about him and demanded that they take him in. Just as the boy was about to get beat up by the others, Kise had stopped them. He was amused at the boy's character and had accepted his request.

Since then, Kyouko had acted as something like a right hand man to Kise, running his errands and the likes. However, he was banned from any form of violence, as the blonde's fondness of the boy had kept him from wanting to put him into danger. It was also the boy's background that concerned him - Kyouko came from a happy family who didn't know anything about his involvement with them, and he himself was a pretty average student that didn't get into trouble or stand out much. As to why Kyouko wanted to join them, Kise didn't know, but he knew that he would protect him – how ironic was the fact that Kyouko was now the one protecting him.

Kise laughed slightly as the boy watched on with a confused look.

"Kise-san? What's wrong?"

"Nothing," he said, "I just find the situation incredibly amusing. Thank you for this, but please, don't come to me again. If they found out you were relaying their plans, you'd be in trouble, and I won't be there to help you."

Kise turned and started walking down the road, hands in pockets, his expression solemn. He had to leave quickly before anyone saw them.

"Actually, I really hoped you would leave them after I was gone. The underworld is really not a place for you to be. One mistake and your whole life could be ruined."

"Kise-san..."

"Do it as a parting gift for me, will you?" Kise said as he turned and smiled at the boy for a moment before continuing on his path.

Kyouko stared at the disappearing blonde's back until he walked far enough to be out of sight. He had joined them because he sought protection, what he thought was happiness. He wanted to be known, to be feared even, but as he watched his former leader walk away with an unwavering feeling of content, he realized that maybe what he wanted wasn't to be feared; maybe _he_ was the one that didn't want to fear_. _Peace, freedom, being able to feel content and safe – maybe that was the happiness Kyouko Misashi was really looking for.

Smiling slightly to himself, Kyouko turned and walked away in the opposite direction. He knew he could leave the gang any time he wanted - he wasn't a valued member, he was just _there_, but it was different for Kise. Regrettably, this was all he could do. Now, he only hoped for the best for his former leader.

* * *

**AUTHOR'S NOTE**

Okay, first off I would like to say that if you guys felt this chapter was a little boring and weird, it was meant to be. Well okay, fine, it wasn't meant to be _boring_, but it was really just an attempt of mine to showcase… bonds and give some insight into the characters. Hopefully it showed how dear the Kiseki are to each other, and gave a better understanding regarding Kise's thoughts and ah, internal struggles. Maybe you guys would've also picked up on the type of person Kise was when he was still involved with the gang.

And yes, Kyouko is meant to be a girl's name, but I thought it sounded good for the personality I was trying to portray.

Lastly, thank you for the reviews! For those of you (_Swanfrost15 and Plume Sombre_) who guessed that Kise was in a street gang or something similar, you're absolutely right, though it wasn't a hard guess eh?

I hope the thing they pulled off with stealing those cars wasn't too out of place, considering some of them are still young, but I would like to clarify that this isn't some mini juvenile gang with nothing better to do, because that would just be pathetic. It's the real deal, serious underworld stuff! And yeah okay I sound stupid now /sits down/.

And if you guys haven't guessed, the inspiration came from the movie franchise Fast and Furious! I was planning something else, but that was too over the top, and then it hit me, since I watched Fast and Furious Six not too long ago when it was out in the cinemas. Take it as a tribute. Great movie franchise by the way, 100/10 recommend.

_Plume Sombre_, and also _finisque_, I thank you for your compliments! For me, Kise always had a "darker" side, contrary to how most of the fandom sees him. This is really evident when you watch him playing basketball, where he gets real serious and badass, such as when he was playing against Touou and the second time he played against Seirin. The way he's drawn during those matches, some of the official and cover art (chapter cover of Q185 anyone?), and the OP/ED for both seasons of the anime – all are brilliant depictions of how badass Kise is and they really just scream _don't mess with this guy or he will beat the shit out of you_. Too bad he always loses because he's not the main character and/or it's needed for plot development. Ha ha ha. No actually it's not even funny. And _Plume,_ don't worry; I'll try to squeeze in some subtle AoKise moments for you!

I hope replying to some reviews in general like this is okay, since I think addressing the individual questions and answering them together with length for everyone is pretty good, so please don't think I'm ignoring your reviews!

Also, I was wondering if I should try to slip Kagami and Himuro into some minor roles, and maybe Nijimura too, since it doesn't quite feel right to leave them out. Let me know what you guys think!

So, till the next update, I bid you farewell! Also I apologize for such long authors' notes, hah.

Review, review, review!


	3. Chapter 3

**CHAPTER THREE**

"What is this?" Kise asked as he walked into the warehouse. For their operation, he'd specified for them to be prepared and ready to leave as soon as he came, but all he saw now was a group of over a dozen people lounging around inside the building.

"Change of plans, blondie," Fukuda called from the battered armchair he occupied, legs dangling off the side with a can of beer in his hand. "You know the Fuyuri right? Well it seems we've had a run in with them recently and now they wanna beat us up. Of course," he took a swig from the can before continuing. "They've made a big deal out of it and are probably bringing the whole damn lot here. Now I'm guessing that they're going to be here in around... ten minutes?"

Kise frowned at this. The Fuyuri were a rival gang that was notorious for being violent. Naturally, they'd pounce at any chance of a group brawl. Kise had always tried his best to keep his gang from situations like this, but trust Fukuda to aggravate the violent bastards.

"So," Fukuda continued, "we want you to settle it on behalf of us."

"What?" Kise shook his head and laughed softly in disbelief. He'd have chosen the heist over getting bloodied any day, but unfortunately, he didn't have a choice. Truth be told, the blond didn't mind the fights; what he was worried about was how he'd cover up the incident from his teammates. Obviously, it'd also be a big blow to his modeling career if anyone found out he was involved in gang fights.

"I can't do it," he tried reasoning.

"Hey, blondie! Do I look like I care whether you can or can't do something? You can't negotiate with us right now," Fukuda taunted. "Or do you want a broken leg for your teammate. Maybe the small little kid with blue hair?"

Kise cursed. One day, he'd get them back, but today just wasn't the day. Just as he was about to protest, a loud bang on the warehouse door diverted his attention. They all looked towards the large doors being pushed open sharply, before several people streamed into the room, a few armed with iron rods and crowbars.

"Shit," Kise backed away as a tall boy about his age strode up front, a wicked grin seemingly plastered onto his face.

"Ryouta! I didn't know you were still hanging around with this bunch!" the boy said happily. "Although I'm not really complaining. Come to save them from me, huh?"

"No, just here to pay them a visit, but I'm leaving now, if you don't mind." Kise walked slowly around the group at the door, but just as he reached the exit, Fukuda called out.

"Ah, blondie! I think you're forgetting something." Turning his attention to the other boy, he smirked. "Yonaka," he addressed, "I was hoping to give you a treat. It seems Kise here is going to ah, take our place to settle the score. I suppose a fight with him would be enough?"

Yonaka hesitated at the odd suggestion, but later dismissed any thoughts he had on the subject. Kise Ryouta was a boy known for his brutal skills that left many in a pathetic state, and being the violent, crazed person he was, Yonaka relished the mere fact that he was being given the opportunity to fight the underworld's resident badass – or even better, to _beat_ him.

"Good proposal, Fukuda. Very good… I'm satisfied with this – you could call us even now."

Yonaka cracked his knuckles and loosened his shoulders. "Alright Ryouta, bring it!"

Kise stood with his back facing the crowd, looking out the doors. The warehouse was silent, but the air was thick with anticipation. Throughout his time with the gang, the boy had avoided violence as much as possible, though sometimes there were matters that had to be resolved with force. His fearsome skills were honed through the years, and it wasn't an overstatement to say that they were polished through blood and sweat. Since middle school, he'd get involved in numerous fights, and suffered countless injuries, but it was through those experiences that he'd picked up the various skills and techniques he had now. Besides, Yonaka Shinya wasn't someone that he wanted to mess with – the boy had serious violence issues and went _insane_ in a fight. Kise had heard of numerous incidents where the brutality of the boy had left his opponents so severely injured that they'd have to recover in the hospital for weeks.

Just as Kise turned around to try to talk his way out of the fight with the bloodthirsty Yonaka, a fist was swung at his face before he could register what was happening. His left cheek stung, and it felt worse than it should have, because after all, he hadn't had any physical injuries in the months since he left.

"Getting rusty, my friend," Yonaka taunted.

Kise glared at the boy and curled his fists, shifting his stance to prepare him for another attack. Yonaka smiled even wider at this and dashed forward, a right hook aimed at the blonde's head. Kise dodged, the shot merely missing his left eye, and dipped low, bringing his fist up at his opponent's jaw, an audible _crack_ sounding at the contact. The boy stumbled backwards and rubbed his jaw, his expression pained.

"Or maybe you haven't lost it yet."

He came back at Kise, swinging his fist at the boy's head once again. The blonde ducked and his face nearly collided with the opposing knee that was brought upwards. He stumbled backwards slightly, leaving an opening for the other boy. Yonaka dashed forward and struck him on the side with a powerful kick. Kise winced, but managed to back away quickly before the next swipe. His arm shot forward, catching the other boy off guard and jarring his shoulder. Yonaka hissed at the sharp contact and hastily stepped back, clutching his injured part. However, he recovered quickly and retaliated, throwing a jab at his opponent.

The two repeatedly threw damaging hits at each other. Occasionally a fist would connect with a jaw, or a kick would find its place on a chest. Quick, powerful blows had both parties bruised and bleeding in a short amount of time, but the fight continued. Kise threw a punch, but Yonaka deflected it and pulled him in, directing an elbow blow at the stumbling blonde. Kise felt a sharp pain burn through the back of his head, and managed to turn it to the side right before his face met the ground. Dazed, he tried to move but his muscles burned, and it was all his arms could do to tremble in their attempt to lift him up. Yonaka laughed gleefully and kicked at the fallen boy. He squatted down and grabbed Kise by the hair, lifting his face up to gloat.

"Hey, Ryouta! I thought you would put up more of a fight," he taunted. "What is this? I thought you had a reputation!"

Kise smiled slightly, but winced at the pain caused by his split lips.

"I guess I'm not… what you expected then," he said breathlessly.

"I suppose not." With a crazed look in his eyes, he straightened up and placed his foot on the blonde's head. "I wonder what would happen if a model didn't have a pretty face anymore."

Then, he lifted his leg and, with a wide, sadistic smile, brought it down in a hard stomp.

. . .

At the same time, a certain Aomine Daiki was holed up in his small apartment. He lay on the couch, a bored expression on his face as he flicked through the channels on the television. It was a Sunday afternoon and he had nothing to do until the evening, during which he would be meeting Kise for another game of basketball. Grinning slightly at the though, his mood lightened as he waited. Aomine contemplated calling the blonde to move up timing, but remembered that he teammate was also a model with a schedule packed to the point of exploding. And besides, he was feeling rather considerate today.

_Oh well_, he thought, _I'll make sure he makes it up to me through some snacks after the game_.

. . .

Countless thoughts flashed through Kise's mind as he watched from the corner of his eye, gaze fixed on the crushing boot about to be brought down onto his head. He still managed to feel slightly amused, despite the situation, at what the outcome of that blow would do to his face. A broken nose, if he was lucky. The boy wasn't pleased at the thought of the damage that was to come, but it was all he could do to lie there. His limbs didn't feel like moving, his energy was drained, he'd given up. Then, it occurred to him that even though his body could heal, his reputation as a model could not, but more importantly was the fact that if he wound up in a hospital, his teammates would be alerted – they would find out about this, they'd _worry_.

_And I still have that game with Aominecchi today_.

At this, it was as if his head cleared, and a sudden rush of energy surged through his body. His hand lifted and caught hold of his opponent's boot just a split second before it crushed him. Kise grunted at the impact as his arm trembled violently from the strain. Wasting no time in saving his energy and easing the burden on his arm, he tugged at the foot, pulling it horizontally away from his face. Yonaka, being unable to release himself from the blond's powerful grip, could only widen his eyes in surprise as he lost his balance and fell forward. Kise scrambled up as quickly as he could and turned to find the other boy already getting up, anger blazing in his eyes. He charged at the blond and slammed his fist into Kise's head. Cursing in pain, the model hastily backed away from his opponent, if only to clear his head for a second. _I'll be lucky if I don't suffer from a concussion_, he thought. Kise regained his composure shortly before Yonaka threw another punch and quickly parried the blow, striking the other boy in the head. _Sweet revenge_, he smirked.

All the action within those few minutes had Kise's blood pumping, and the thrill of it was all coming back to him. He silently berated himself for feeling the way he was, but he knew that being merciful wouldn't get him out of this quickly, and shrug off his mental restrictions. Now was the time to end it.

In the mere second that the Fuyuri leader had taken to back away and clutch his head from the forceful blow it had received, Kise swung his leg and sent a sharp leg to the other side of his opponent's head. He cried out in pain and stumbled away, but the blond dashed forward and struck him again. At this, one of the Fuyuri gang members rushed in and desperately tried to separate them, but was met with a hard hit. His eyes widened in shock at the fact that the blow had come not from Kise, but his own leader.

"Stay out of this!" Yonaka commanded, to which the other boy complied.

Kise watched as Yonaka glared at him, his eyes filled with rage. He readied himself as his opponent roared and charged, once again starting a series of exchanged blows. Eventually, they grew tired and their movements slowed, but it was at that point where Kise took his chance. He maneuvered past Yonaka, who looked back, mildly shocked at his actions. Surely, the blond wasn't trying to escape, was he? But it was just the opposite. Kise swung around and delivered a strong kick to the back of Yonaka's knee. The boy fell to the ground face first, but flipped himself around quickly, only to meet two hands which roughly gripped the collar of his shirt. Kise grabbed and hauled him up, only to fling his body to the side. Yonaka landed hard on his shoulder, the pain shooting through him as if it was dislocated.

Sensing the danger of the situation, he looked at the blond striding towards him and tried to scramble up, but it was too late. Kise grabbed him again and slammed him into the wall, and it was then that Yonaka realized that things were too far gone for him. Kise's eyes were full of anger and hate, and the intensity of it was enough to send a person cowering in fear; one look was enough to know that this was not someone to mess with. Unfortunately for the Fuyuri's leader, it was as if fear was not enough – the model glared murderously at him and proceeded to punch him right across the jaw. Yonaka slid to the ground and Kise followed suit, sitting right on top of him and continued on with it, delivering blow after blow, completely unconcerned about the damage he was doing, or the shocked faces watching him. Yonaka's vision blurred as his face grew bloodier after each hit, but he couldn't do anything about it, his body felt dead and he was terrified. Kise Ryouta – this was the monstrosity that people had talked about, the wrath that he was facing. Yonaka wasn't even sure if this was the true extent of the blond's power, but he was already wondering why he ever challenged him in the first place.

It wasn't before long that the walls Kise had put up around his mind had fallen, and reason was able to get through to him again. The voice in his head told him to stop as his mental restrictions pieced themselves back together. Focusing on the bloodied face in front of him, he saw a look of pure desperation and fear directed at him. Kise blinked and quickly realized what he was doing, stopping the last punch just inches from contact. His hands trembled when everything sunk in. His thoughts were a mess. This was exactly what he had vowed not to do. Kise honestly thought that he had left his old ways behind, that he had rid of the monster in him… but it was evident now that he was wrong.

A sudden slam of his fist on the wall had everyone jump up in shock, especially Yonaka, whose face had just been next to the point of impact. Fear shot through the clustered group when Kise started laughing. It was a bitter laugh, soft but loud enough to be heard by the silent group. He got off and sat beside a trembling Yonaka, leaning his head back and closing his eyes briefly. Forget today's game with Aomine, he probably couldn't even go to school for the next few days. Truly, he was mad. Mad with Fukuda who got him into this mess, mad with Yonaka for being such an idiot, but mostly, he was mad with himself for allowing everything to happen. Turning his head to the side, he looked at the pathetic state Yonaka was in and smiled sadly.

"Sorry," he said, to which the boy's eye's widened in response.

Kise then tried to push himself up, but a sharp pain that shot through his left arm forced him to sit back down. Cursing silently, he got up again, using his other arm and swept a glance across the warehouse. Members of both gangs stared at him warily as if they were afraid of him even in his current state, which he thought was a little odd considering how beaten up he already was, but they made no move towards him. Even Fukuda was seated quietly, looking at the blond with an intangible expression. Without a word, Kise walked slowly towards to doors, the dragging of his feet against the ground the only sound in the otherwise silent warehouse. He could feel everyone's eyes on him as he left, but as long as they didn't try to stop him, he wouldn't look back. Whatever happened after was going to be their problem, and he didn't want to see it. More importantly, he had to get back home, or maybe even to a hospital afterwards. Clutching his left arm, Kise made his way out, leaving the awed group behind.

* * *

**AUTHOR'S NOTE**

This chapter is actually considerably longer than the others, and I suppose I'm quite pleased with it. Hopefully I managed to show more of what's inside Kise's head and write the whole fight scene well enough, because really, I had very little idea of what I was doing for that.

Also, Yonaka Shinya. I don't think his character came out as well as I would've liked it to be – due to my inexperience in writing fight scenes so everything else was kinda hard to get out, oops – but I think it's alright, you know, bearable. Heh. If you guys know some Japanese, maybe you would've found out that his name is basically "Midnight Late-night" and I think that's really funny. I couldn't think of any other suitable names, and also I imagined him to look similar to the character Midnight from Fairy Tail, with the dark hair and eccentric features, so it was only right that I named him Midnight as well, but in Japanese.

Once again, thank you for the reviews! I have already written Kagami and Himuro into the story, and I have plans to bring them back at least a couple times. They're already back in Japan, since well, the characters are already in high school. I've also found a slot for Nijimura, because I love the guy, and I'm not too pleased about him fading into the background in the manga. Hopefully, Fujimaki will bring him back.

I'll keep this A/N short, unlike the last one.

Reviews bring happiness.


	4. Chapter 4

**CHAPTER FOUR**

The sun was setting and the evening sky was tinged with pale orange rays. All the people who were out and about at that time were occupied with their own matters, and paid little attention to the blond haired boy who was walking down the street, being as inconspicuous as he could manage. But if one were to stop and look, they'd notice that the boy was clutching his left arm with a pained expression on his face as he walked slowly, as if every step caused him great discomfort. His attire was heavily ruffled, torn at some parts, and covered in blood. Fortunately, the dark colours he'd chosen to wear did quite a good job at concealing the crimson liquid, saving him from any event of being noticed and questioned.

After leaving the warehouse, Kise had stopped to clean himself up as well as he could, wiping off the blood and dirt on his face and smoothing his hair down. It wasn't done too well considering the amount of damage he suffered, but it was good enough that no one had noticed anything. He had been walking for the past half an hour, not being able to take the bus in his current condition, and had just reached a park near his apartment. Just as luck would have it, the blond realized that he didn't have his phone on him, so he couldn't even call Aomine to cancel their game.

_Ah well, Aominecchi is probably just fine playing by himself right now, or maybe he even found some other people to play a game with_, Kise thought, trying to convince himself that he wasn't inconveniencing his teammate too much.

A sharp pain shot through his left arm again and the boy winced. Deciding it was best to rest and catch his breath, Kise moved towards the familiar basketball court to the side of the park and sat down beside the surrounding fence. He'd have chosen the park benches if things were normal, but clearly his current appearance would draw attention, and that was the last thing he wanted right now. A couple of boys were occupying the court, but he dismissed their presence with the notion that they wouldn't bother him. Leaning his head back against crossed wires, Kise closed his eyes and tried to formulate an excuse for missing school for the next week. Given his injuries, it'd be a pain to even leave his home, but more importantly was the issue of hiding them. Giving a reason to the school staff was easy, but the problem was how he could escape the questioning of his teammates. If he said he was sick, they'd probably come to visit him, and that wouldn't do. Dismissing that idea, he plunged deeper into his thoughts, hoping to come up with a better excuse.

"Hey, are you alright?"

Kise opened his eyes and saw two boys standing to his side and recognized them to be the ones that were playing basketball earlier. Slightly irritated, he looked at them, his expression neutral. When it was clear he wasn't going to respond, one of the two boys spoke again.

"I'm Himuro, and this is Kagami," he gestured to the red-haired boy next to him. "You look like you got into a fight. Are you injured?"

Kise then softened at the concern shown by the strangers.

"It's okay, I'm fine," he smiled. "You guys should get back to your game, I don't want to bother you."

"Oh no, you're not bothering us at all. It' just that, maybe you should get yourself to the hospital. It's not good to leave wounds alone. Trust me," Himuro replied, smiling at the boy named Kagami before turning back to Kise. "We lived in America before, and we got into a number of fights too, so take it from us."

Kise couldn't help but laugh slightly at that – he sure as hell had a lot of experience regarding that matter too. Then, he remembered something.

"Actually, do you have a phone on you?"

Kagami responded at this, handing Kise his phone, a curious look on his face.

Nodding in thanks, the blond proceeded to dial a number and waited.

"Ah, Aominecchi? It's Kise here-"

"_Oi, Kise, where are you? I've been waiting for almost twenty minutes, you bastard_!"

Kise cringed slightly at the sharp reply, despite having expected a reaction similar to the one he had just received. He was sure Aomine's voice was loud enough to be heard by the boys standing next to him and bit his lip, glancing to the side in embarrassment.

"Eh, well… I-I was at the modeling agency!" he said, adopting an optimistic tone. "It turns out I have to go to Kyoto for about a week and they were going over the details with me. I'm sorry, Aominecchi! I'll make it up to you when I get back. Relay the message to the others for me, okay? See ya!"

"_Hey, liste-"_

Kise promptly hung up and heaved a sigh of relief, glad that the call was over. He felt bad about it, but that was all he could do for now. He silently thanked himself for taking on the job as a model and all the perks it came with and handed the phone back to Kagami.

"Thanks for that," he said as he stood. Again, he'd forgotten about his left arm and grimaced at pain it caused when he'd tried to get up. "I'll make it up to you guys if I ever meet you again. Oh, and one more thing: if you receive a call from the number I dialed, don't pick up."

Kise smiled at them before turning and walking away in the direction of his apartment.

"Are you sure you don't want to go to a hospital?" Himuro called, only to receive a response in the form of a dismissive wave.

After Kise had left, Himuro turned to Kagami and looked at him worriedly.

"I hope he'll be alright. He seemed pretty beat up."

"Yeah," Kagami nodded. "But more importantly, wasn't that the Generation of Miracles' Kise Ryouta?"

. . .

"So you're saying Ryouta called you and told you he'd be away for the whole week?"

"Yeah," Aomine nodded in response to his captain's question. "'I have to go to Kyoto for about a week' were his exact words. Why're you so skeptical anyway? He always does this doesn't he?"

"Well yes, but Ryouta always asks for permission first," Akashi stated. He felt uneasy about the situation. If this were any other time, he wouldn't have given it much thought, but they all knew that Kise seemed to be caught up in some trouble recently, and that was what worried him. "Did you try to call him again?"

"Huh? Yeah, but he called from another number. When I called the same number no one picked up," Aomine said as he threw a three pointer. The ball went through the basket and landed on the ground, bouncing around for a while before rolling off to the far corner.

Akashi frowned at this. The situation was becoming increasingly strange. It wasn't a stretch to say that Kise might've borrowed one of his agency's staff's phone, but the captain still felt that something was wrong, and Akashi Seijuurou had nothing if not his intuition. After a moment of thinking, he'd made up his mind that he was going to get some answers right after school ended.

Sitting nearby and hearing the conversation take place was a certain Momoi Satsuki. The team's keen manager had witnessed the entire exchange and taken in the key points of the situation. It was highly unlike Kise to act the way he did, and Momoi shared Akashi's worries. Despite not seeming close with the model, she'd spent a lot of time with him, as he _was _a model after all, and could best relate to her worries about appearances amongst other things. Off and on, he'd even go shopping with her, and she'd be lying if she claimed she didn't find it funny when people looked at her with envy, even if she _was_ just friends with Kise. Momoi knew that if he really did have to go to Kyoto for a week, the whole team would've probably received individual text messages from him, announcing his departure and asking them not to miss him. She couldn't help but smile at the notion. The boy's odd antics were extremely endearing at times, and she found it hard to believe that someone like him could have actually gotten into any real trouble. Nonetheless, it was best if they checked up on him, because after all, she _was_ their manager, and it _was_ part of her job to keep the team in line and make sure they were alright.

. . .

It was already late afternoon, but Kise Ryouta was still in bed. The sun's rays had still managed to shine into his room, despite the drawn curtains, and the blond was not happy. Finally, not being able to take the glare anymore, he got up and entered the bathroom to freshen up.

After making himself a cup of tea and slowly shuffling into the lounge, Kise sat down on the couch and turned on the television, aimlessly flicking through the channels. His body was still extremely sore, and he hadn't managed to go to the hospital to get his left arm checked yet.

It was already late evening by the time he had reached his apartment, and it was just pure luck that the guards didn't question him on his appearance. He got a few strange looks, but that was it, and he was pleased. They weren't paid to stick their noses into the residents' matters anyway. The moment he was through his apartment door, he'd gone to take a hot shower to wash away the blood and dirt and clean his wounds. His clothes were left soaking in the laundry area, and he'd quickly tended to whatever cuts and bruises with what he could find in the sorry excuse of a first aid box he had in his apartment. Right after that, he'd gone to bed without even eating anything.

Now he realized that he was extremely hungry, and was about to walk over to the kitchen to whip up a quick meal but honestly, he couldn't be bothered to even get off the couch. Being lazy was one factor, but the pain that would shoot through his entire body if he moved too much was another. Sighing, he grabbed his phone off the table and dialed the number for a pizza delivery.

. . .

"Ah, stop holding onto me, Satsuki!"

Momoi had her hand around Aomine's wrist in a death grip and was dragging him to where Kise lived. Right after school, she'd walked up to the tanned boy and caught a hold of him, not giving him a chance to escape.

"Come with me," she had commanded. "We're going to check on Ki-chan." And that was that.

Checking the address she'd written on a piece of paper, she stared at the apartment blocks they were standing in front of. It was the right place, but the appearance of the buildings in front of her made her feel doubtful. They had a modern exterior, fancy, though not too elaborate, and she could see a couple uniformed men strolling around, and they were most likely the security guards on patrol. Even though the place didn't quite look like it belonged on the cover of a home design magazine, it looked pretty impressive, and that meant that it was also quite expensive. Momoi knew that Kise was richer than the rest of them with the exception of Akashi, with him being a model and what not, but she didn't know that he was _that _rich.

_Huh_, she thought, _no wonder he's always wearing such fancy clothes, even when he comes over to our houses_.

"Have you ever been here?" she asked the boy next to her.

Aomine seemed as if he too was stunned by the appearance of the apartment blocks in front of him, but he quickly realized that she was talking to him.

"No," he said, "he's never asked for us to come over."

Momoi hummed in acknowledgement before she marched forward, again dragging Aomine with her.

. . .

A red-haired boy looked up at the sign on the building in front of him, checking once again if he was at the right place. He'd found his way to Kise's modeling agency's headquarters. Walking into the building, he proceeded to the reception counter.

"Excuse me, can I speak to Kise Ryouta?"

The girl sitting behind the counter looked up at him, seemingly stunned, but quickly smiled and nodded.

"Please wait a moment, I'll check if he's in the building."

Akashi looked around as he waited. The place was fairly well furnished, simple, but with an edge to it – befitting of a modeling agency, he supposed.

"Excuse me, sir. Kise-san is not here at the moment. Is there a message you would like to pass on?"

"Did he leave for Kyoto for a photoshoot? Don't worry, I'm a friend from his school," he assured. "He did not turn up today, so I came to check."

"No," she frowned, reluctant to give out information but decided that it was alright, on grounds that he was just a concerned friend from school. "He doesn't have anything scheduled until the next week."

Akashi stilled. This proved that his suspicions were correct, that Kise didn't leave on modeling business, though he still had no idea where his teammate was.

"I see. Thank you," he smiled. Akashi then turned and walked out. There was nothing more he could do today. He'd tried calling the blond, but received no answer. As he left for home, the captain decided that he would wait till tomorrow came, and see if Kise turned up. If not, he'd decide what to do then.

. . .

After making the call and placing an order for a pizza delivery, Kise had resumed flicking through the television channels, but nothing was interesting enough for him, and ended up he leaving the machine on with some action flick playing, just for the sake of noise. He'd then turned to other various activities to keep himself occupied, but there was only so much one could do when their body was in such condition. Kise was absently flipping through a magazine when the doorbell rang.

_Huh, the pizza's quite fast today_, he mused happily.

Walking over to the door, he was about to open it when he heard a girl's voice. He stopped, and looked through the peephole, and to his surprise as well as disappointment, it wasn't the pizza delivery. Standing at his doorstep was, instead, a grumbling boy with a pink haired girl by his side. Kise was about to open the door when he remembered: he was supposed to be in Kyoto.

_What are they doing here?_

He walked over to the lounge, as quickly as his aching body would allow, and turned off the television. The place was quiet now, and he hoped that it would give the impression that he wasn't home. Kise tiptoed back to the door and put his ear against it, listening in on whatever they were saying.

"I told you he's not here! He said he was going to Kyoto!" Aomine growled.

"But don't you think it's weird? Ki-chan only told you, and you said he called you from another number and won't answer," he heard Momoi complain. "There's nothing wrong with checking either, and I think I heard some noises in there just now. He _must_ be home."

"Well does it look like anyone's opening the door?"

Kise stifled his laughter at Aomine's comment, and he could just imagine Momoi blushing and giving the other boy a deadly glare.

The two continued to bicker outside his door while Kise stood, quietly listening to their amusing exchange. Then it occurred to him that the pizza could arrive any minute now, and if they were still there, there'd be big trouble. Just as he was reaching for his phone to try and cancel the order, he heard another voice.

"What are you two doing?"

It was a man, but Kise didn't recognize his voice. Looking through the peephole once again, he could just barely make out the face of an elderly man standing to the side, glaring at his two friends. For a moment, the blond couldn't recognize him, but then he remembered – it was his neighbour. Kise had rarely seen them around, but he knew that a family of three generations lived next door, and this was the grandfather whose name he couldn't remember.

"Ah, sorry sir," Momoi smiled, "we were just checking to see if our friend is home."

"Well does it look like anyone's opening the door?" the man snapped, saying the same thing as Aomine had not too long ago.

Kise watched his teammate struggle to contain his laughter, more out of respect for his elders than because he didn't want to embarrass the pink haired girl next to him, who was blushing even more than before.

"Whatever it is," the man continued, "you're really loud and my grandchildren might wake up because of the noise. I suggest you keep it down."

"Yes, sorry," Momoi nodded apologetically before turning to Aomine. "Let's go. It seems like Ki-chan isn't home."

As they walked away, Kise heard Aomine grumble even more – something about _I told you so_ – before they moved out of hearing range. Silently thanking the man whose name he didn't even know, Kise sank into his couch and heaved a sigh of relief. He sat there for a few minutes, toying with his phone and checking his messages before the doorbell rang again. Fortunately for the model, it really was the pizza this time.

* * *

**AUTHOR'S NOTE**

It seems like the chapters are getting longer and longer, heh. I'll try to keep them consistent though, probably around the three thousand mark.

I quite enjoyed writing this chapter, though I'm not sure why, but I apologize for the lack of other Kiseki members. On another note, how did you guys like my incorporation of Himuro and Kagami in here? I made Himuro do most of the talking because well, he fit that role better than Kagami.

Any input is much appreciated. _Plume_, I hope that was a satisfying cover up story for Kise! Hah!


	5. Chapter 5

**CHAPTER FIVE**

It was already late evening by the time practice finished. The team, excluding Kise, had left the school grounds together and was headed to a nearby restaurant for an early dinner, since none of them had plans for the night. They had discussed various topics on the way, but eventually it came back to the question of a certain model's whereabouts after his name was brought up in the midst of conversation.

"We went to Ki-chan's house yesterday, and he wasn't home, so I guess he's really gone to Kyoto," Momoi stated.

"Yeah, you guys should've been there," Aomine said. "Satsuki –"

"Satsuki thought that the apartment was really nice," Momoi smiled, cutting Aomine off with a sharp jab to his gut before he could recount the embarrassing incident, which involved her getting told off by Kise's neighbor. "I didn't know Ki-chan lived in such a nice place. It looked really expensive though."

"That's not really a surprise," Midorima stated. "He's _is_ famous."

"Well, that's true. Actually, that was the first time we've been to his apartment. Even Dai-chan said that he's never been over, which was strange since they always play basketball near there."

"Oi, Satsuki! What does playing basketball nearby have anything to do with it? We're not girls, and we don't go over to each other's homes just for the sake of it," Aomine admonished.

"Eh? Not even for a snack?"

Everyone looked at Murasakibara, who was still munching on his snacks despite being on the way to dinner. Midorima let out a sigh and shook his head, incredulous at his teammate's childishness.

Akashi walked on in silence, his thoughts far from the conversation. Even though Kise might not have been home, it didn't mean he was in Kyoto. The captain was about to announce his findings from yesterday, about the modeling agency not having any schedules for Kise for the week, when all of their phones went off at an incoming message. They all checked their screens and read the texts received, all sent from none other than the blond in question. True to Momoi's prediction about Kise's infamous text messages, they each got a personalized paragraph stating why he was absent – that he was in Kyoto – and that they shouldn't miss him too much, each ending with some sort of emoticon that only Murasakibara bothered to look at.

It was as if the message had come on cue to silence Akashi from speaking, telling him that Kise was in fact in Kyoto. However, there was still the issue of his agency apparently not having anything scheduled for him, but the red haired captain doubted that Kise had any reason to lie, and decided to let it go, attributing the matter to a system error in the agency's records.

Behind him, Momoi smiled happily, relieved to know that Kise was indeed away for a modelling shoot. It was odd that they hadn't received any notice from him except for that brief phone call with Aomine, but now that he'd sent these painfully _Kise-esque_ text messages confirming his location, she was satisfied.

Kuroko glanced at their smiling manager, glad to see her reassured. The girl had been the most anxious about Kise's sudden departure, even though it wasn't an unusual occurrence. True, it was a lot more unexpected than the other times, but the team understood well that Kise's job as a model took him to odd places at odd times, and as long as it didn't affect his performance during games - and his happiness - they wouldn't stress about his absence. Still staring at his screen, Kuroko typed out a short reply of acknowledgement, and included a statement that no, Kise would not be missed, just to humour himself.

. . .

Kise was sprawled on the couch again, his eyes fixed on the television screen where some college flick movie was playing. It was already late evening, and he'd ordered Chinese take-out for dinner. Before that, he'd sent out messages to his teammates, just to reassure and calm them down, especially after the incident yesterday where Aomine and Momoi had come all the way to his apartment. The memory brought a smile to his face as he remembered Momoi being nagged by his elderly neighbor. Honestly, Kise owed it to the man, at least to some extent, for managing to get his friends to leave quickly. Maybe he should try to learn the guy's name, if nothing else.

The phone lying on the table vibrated, and Kise glanced at the lit screen and grinned; Kuroko had replied to his message. The happiness didn't last long however, when the boy had read the text and saw what his teammate had written.

"Hmph," the blond pouted in mock irritation. His friends had always teased him, ever since they got to know each other. Kise supposed that it was his façade that he put on in front of them; the bubbly personality he portrayed, the persona that made him seem like someone who was easily pushed around, someone who didn't put up a fight and would always remain happy. Then again, it wasn't all an act – Kise did indeed have a cheerful personality, as well as a playful, childish streak that was present in all he did. It was more accurate to say that it was an exaggerated display of his character in an attempt to shadow his past, and it seemed that his efforts weren't unsuccessful.

Shifting around, the model closed his eyes and rubbed his temples, thinking of all the issues that would arise should his teammates find out about history. It wasn't that he didn't trust them to be accepting, but discovering that Teikou's resident pretty boy was formerly involved with the underworld wasn't something that people would take in without shock.

Kise grabbed the box of noodles sitting on the table and grimaced when he saw that they were no longer hot. He ate quickly, stuffing the food down his throat before they could get any colder, all the while pondering about the issue of his past as he stared absently at the television screen. All too soon, the contents of the tall paper box were gone and the model sulkily put everything away. The movie was still going, but he'd lost whatever small amount of interest he'd had since about half an hour ago. Kise tried stretching, but immediately regretted it; his body throbbed, still painfully sore even after two days. The model got up as soon as the ache dulled and turned off the television, flicked the light switch and shuffled hurriedly to his room. Groaning, he plopped onto his bed and snuggled into the thick covers, ready to pass out even though it was still early by his usual standards. Screw washing up, he was crashing right now.

. . .

"Ki-chan!"

Kise looked up to see a pink haired girl running towards him and smiled as he waved at her. Momoi enveloped the blond in an almighty glomp, causing him to bite down on his lower lip to keep any pained inarticulate sounds from escaping his mouth. Though his body had gotten better over the week, it wasn't healed completely, and Kise would have to stay away from any vigorous activities – or damaging hugs, for that matter.

"Momocchi!" Kise greeted, grinning happily down at his manager.

"We all haven't seen you in a week! Actually I was quite worried, since you left so abruptly, but then you sent those text messages, so all was fine again. Dai-chan and I even went to your apartment, but you weren't there," she said, carefully leaving out the neighbor incident, Kise noted with a smirk. "You should invite all of us over! The place looked really nice, you know! I didn't think you were _that _rich!"

"Ah, no! I'm not! Well, I only paid for about half of it, and my sisters subsidized everything else. It was actually kind of a gift for me, when I had my first centerfold," the model rubbed the back of his neck sheepishly. He looked up and noticed Aomine walking up to them, his expression a hybrid of boredom and mild annoyance.

"Yo, Kise," he greeted, before turning to Momoi and scowling. "Why the hell did you scream just now?! It's just Kise, nothing special. My ears almost went."

Momoi glared and stuck her tongue out at him, clearly irritated with his remarks. "You are just jealous that I like Ki-chan better than you, _Aho_mine," she spat, taking Kise's arm and dragging him away. "Come on, let's go see the others! They'll probably be happy to see you again." Her sudden change of tone left Kise feeling extremely amused, and he couldn't help but grin when he glanced back and saw Aomine's sour expression.

Aomine sulked for a few more moments before grudgingly walking to follow after them. They had a team meeting later anyway: the year-end tournament was coming up soon, and Akashi had summoned them for discussion. As to what there was to discuss, Aomine was clueless, but it didn't matter – they would win anyway.

. . .

"Ryouta, what are you doing? Concentrate!" Akashi snapped at the blond. They were in the middle of a semi-final match, and though they were winning, the captain wasn't pleased. Since the start of the game, Kise had been detached, unfocused; his movements were dull, and he'd slipped up a couple of times, which was a rare event for any of the Generation of Miracles. It was as if his mind was elsewhere, like he was bothered by something. Even Momoi looked worried as she watched on from the sidelines.

Kise snapped out of his thoughts at Akashi's command and refocused his attention on the match. They were leading by a wide margin, but that didn't mean he could forsake his responsibility to perform well during the game. The trouble was, he had another heist to pull off tomorrow, and he was having trouble planning it.

It had already been a few months since Kise was first dragged back into the gang. Every couple weeks or so, he'd be summoned, usually to put together a plan for something they were trying to pull. There were also the odd cases, such as where he would be thrown into a street fight, where they could earn money off the losing side. He'd won them a great deal, but at the expense of a constantly sore body and multiple injuries that had to be tended to and concealed.

Although, Kise supposed some good had come out of this, though he would never admit it. He now had a much higher stamina and resistance to physical damage; he felt less pain, his movements were sharper, more enhanced. It was safe to say he was ah, back in the game after the long absence. The only difference was that he was now better. Stronger. _Deadlier_. Those very attributes had been carried on to his basketball skills, making him an even more dangerous opponent on the court as well.

From the corner of his eye Kise watched Aomine dribble the ball and pass it over the Kuroko. The phantom player caught Kise's eye a split second before the ball came flying towards the blond. He caught it and maneuvered around his opponent easily, running up to the free throw line from which he jumped, dunking the ball into the basket – a lane up.

The other team had acquired control of the ball after the restart and was sprinting down the court. Kise stood below in the middle of the court as he watched, resting his hands on his hips. There was no need to move: his teammates would regain the ball easily and score a point, maybe with Midorima or Aomine if they didn't pass it back to him. Either way, he was sure that there was no need for his interference – they _were_ the Generation of Miracles, and this game was as good as theirs. It wasn't as if Kise didn't like the game – he loved basketball, more than anything – but his thoughts were just a little preoccupied right now.

. . .

The next few days went by in a flash, and things progressed smoothly for Kise – in _both_ parts of his life. The heist was executed perfectly, and he'd also managed to spit out various venomous insults at Fukuda, who was left pointing and spluttering in rage at the blonde back at the warehouse. On the other hand, the championship was over, and unsurprisingly, they, Teikou, had won. Moreover, there was a dinner party going to be held a couple nights away, in celebration of the "good spirit of basketball," and of course, the "impressive display of talent presented by the participating teams," as the officials put it.

Kise had been to a number of formal events before, but honestly, he couldn't wait for this one. It was special, not just because it was connected to basketball, or that it wasn't for his job where he'd have to put on a smile every second he was there. No, it was due to the fact that this time, he was going to be with his friends. There wouldn't be any people to please, no questions to answer. It would be just them, having a good time. If anything, Kise thought he deserved at least that, especially after all the shit that life had been throwing at him lately.

Another thing that Kise was looking forward to was about to happen in less than an hour – the team was coming over to his place. After he'd returned to school, Momoi had asked if they could visit his apartment. Though he was a little reluctant at first, Kise agreed, thinking that it would be great for them to come over and brighten up the atmosphere. The blond lived alone, so most of the time the place was quiet, save for the occasional bloodcurdling – as he put it – screams and cries of his neighbor's kids. It wasn't a lie to say that he didn't mind being by himself, or that he never really felt lonely, but in all honesty, sometimes company was appreciated.

When his friends arrived, Kise had just finished putting everything in place; the boy had been running around the apartment making sure that all the messes were cleared up, laying out the snacks and, of course, stashing whatever he didn't want them to find. After all, he _was_ a perfectionist, and this was the first time that anyone else besides his family was going to be here. Everything had to be _just right_.

"It's actually quite nice here," Akashi stated. They were all now seated in the living area in front of the television after being given a brief tour of the apartment. "The environment is peaceful. It's a new building right?"

"Yeah, I just moved in about a year ago. Most of the apartments have filled up though, so it's not as quiet as it used to be," Kise replied, looking away from the penguin figure sitting on Midorima's lap. It was, without a doubt, the lucky item for today, and he knew better than to ask any questions.

"Kise-chin, don't you have any snacks left?"

Kise turned to look at the tray of snacks he'd set on the table, and gaped when he saw that the whole tray had been emptied, save for a few crumbs. "Sorry, that's all there was."

"Ki-chan, you have to come shopping with me! I need to get a new dress for the dinner party," Momoi smiled. There was no one else better to help her than their circle's very own model. "Dai-chan needs a suit too, so you could probably pick one out."

"I have a suit," Aomine grumbled.

"Bullshit you do. You hate suits – you've never even worn the school blazer!"

"I have one," he insisted.

"Don't bother with him." Midorima toyed with the bandages around his fingers. "If he doesn't wear one, he won't be let in to the event. Simple as that."

Aomine scowled at the horoscope-obsessed freak. If anything, _he_ would be the one not allowed in, especially with those wrapped fingers of his _and_ the fact that he would probably be lugging around some bizarre object serving as his glorified lucky item.

"Can we go out for dinner?" Heads turned in the direction of Murasakibara, who looked longingly at the empty tray on the table. "I'm hungry," he complained.

"I think that's a good idea. It's already evening, so we might as well." Kuroko sipped from the glass of water. "I am actually quite hungry myself."

"Okay," Akashi nodded. "Ryouta, where do you propose we go?"

"Well, there's this new place that opened about a month ago," Kise suggested, the corner of his mouth quirked thoughtfully. "I've never been there but apparently it's really good."

"Right then, let's go."

They got up and let themselves out the door, walking slowly towards the elevator as Kise locked up. It was at that moment that his phone rang.

"Hello?" Kise answered, his other hand still turning the key in the lock.

_"Hey blondie, we got another job for you!"_

Shit.

"What do you want now, Fukuda?" He kept his voice low, glancing to the side to make sure his teammates weren't paying attention.

"_Actually, there's a race event going on in a couple nights time. The prize is well, the sweet, sweet ride of your opponent._" The voice on the other end of the line didn't need to elaborate any further – it was clear that Kise was wanted to participate in the race.

A couple nights time? That was the same day as the dinner party, and there was no way in hell that Kise was going to miss that. But then again, did he really have a choice? Looking back at his teammates walking down the hallway, he steeled his resolve.

"No."

A moment of silence passed before Fukuda responded, his voice low and tinged with disbelief. "_What the hell did you say? No? Bastard, are you stupid?_"

Kise thought this over for a while. Was he stupid? Definitely not, but what he was saying now could be potentially be one of the biggest mistakes in his life. Refusing an order like that wasn't a very bright thing to do, but he'd be damned if he allowed them to control him for the rest of this life.

"I said _no_, Fukuda. You can take your threats and jam them up your rear for now," he hissed. "Now if you'll excuse me, I have a life to attend to." Kise ended the call and stuffed the phone back into his pocket. It seemed almost ridiculous, what he had done, especially since the odds were against him. Fukuda would come after him, throw him more shit, maybe beat him up… the possibilities were endless and unpleasant, but he'd worry about that later. Besides, he had other priorities – friends, and dinner.

* * *

**AUTHOR'S NOTE**

Ah, the beginnings of a coup d'etat. Well okay not really, it's more like a single-man revolt. I just wanted to say coup d'etat because that word is always cool.

And yes, I suppose Himuro doesn't quite seem like the type who's crazy over basketball and wants to beat everyone. The way I see him is just that he really loves the sport, and is a little envious of Kagami who is blessed with such talent. Otherwise, all he wants is to enjoy himself. Good, kind chap.

Thank you all!


	6. Chapter 6

**CHAPTER SIX**

The day of the dinner party came quickly, which wasn't surprising considering it was only two days away.

Kise had accompanied Momoi to the mall yesterday, and though it was unplanned, they'd picked up a new suit for him along with her gown.

He currently stood in front of the mirror in his bathroom, fixing his tie. Now he was wondering why he'd wasted his money on a new suit when he already had one which looked almost the same as this new one. Granted, the cut was nicer, considering it cost quite a bit more, but it still seemed like a waste. He'd bought it on impulse, though Momoi's constant urging had attributed to that, claiming that "a model has to keep up his appearances" and being seen in the same suit over and over again would get boring.

Then again, impulsive shopping was the least of his worries. He had other issues to deal with, but since he'd dedicated this night to having fun, those thoughts were pushed to the back of his mind.

Kise smiled, satisfied that his tie was now perfectly in place. He opened the doors to the small shelving unit and took out a container of gel. Time to work on his hair.

. . .

The large hall that was booked for the dinner event was decorated beautifully, with the walls lined with pale floral ornaments and various delicacies laid out on the long buffet tables. The place was lit with warm lights and a live band was gathered at the stage, soothing melodies flowing.

A large majority of the teams that had participated in the tournament were present, and most of the Teikou team had arrived - including those from the second and third string - save for a few tardy individuals. The Generation of Miracles had gathered near the entrance, waiting for the remaining members of their team to show up.

As expected, Midorima had brought along his lucky item for the day - a plush toy in the form of a white husky. Stares were earned from the other teams passing by, and the occasional giggle from any females that were involved with the basketball society. A tall boy in glasses, smartly dressed in a suit, holding a plush toy in bandaged wrapped fingers - it was a sight, to say the least.

The rest of the team were dressed similarly in plain black suits, though it didn't stop them from standing out as the unrivalled crushing force in all the basketball tournaments.

Next to them stood Momoi, who was wearing a strapless crimson coloured gown which cut off at her knees, a black shawl wrapped around her shoulders, hair curled slightly at the tips – a stunning sight. She was looking around, waiting for the last of their friends to arrive - Kise and Aomine.

"Oh! Ki-chan!"

The rest of the team turned in the direction in which Momoi was waving and saw the model walking up to them.

He was also dressed in a black suit - pity no one turned up in something more extravagant - and a part of his hair was slicked back.

"Sorry I'm late," he smiled apologetically. "Is everyone else already here?"

"We're still waiting for Aomine-kun," Kuroko told him. "You two were the last."

"Didn't Aominecchi come with Momocchi?"

"No," she said. "He was taking too long so I left without him."

"Sounds like Daiki all right. Well, he'll probably take a while so let's go in first," Akashi turned and walked towards the doors. "The event is starting."

. . .

"Ah, it was a good game! We should play again sometime."

Murasakibara stood by Akashi as he spoke to a rather tall boy with dark brown hair and a warm smile on his face.

"Yes, we should," the captain smiled. "Besides, I suppose your skills have increased greatly since our last match, right Teppei?"

Kiyoshi Teppei, also known as the Iron Heart, was one of the Uncrowned Kings, those only second in place to the Generation of Miracles. He currently belonged to Seirin High, which was famous for their run-and-gun gameplay.

"Well, you'll just have to wait and find out! Pity that we didn't manage to make it to the finals— Ah, Hanamiya!"

He gave a quick parting nod and turned to walk off in the direction of a group that just entered the room. Akashi spotted the person who had caught Kiyoshi's attention - Hanamiya Makoto, who was also another of the Uncrowned Kings. However, he was a direct contrast to Kiyoshi. Hanamiya was known for his vile methods of injuring opponents to win games even though he and his team were good enough to get by with pure skill. As such, they weren't on very good terms with other teams.

"What an unpleasant person."

Akashi looked at his vice-captain who had just walked up beside them.

"I never understood why Kiyoshi would try to even talk to them." Midorima watched as the Iron Heart, a radiant smile ever present on his face, wholeheartedly tried to converse with Hanamiya, who on the other hand, had a sour look on his face; pure distaste evident at seeing the cheerful Seirin centre.

On the other side of the room, Kuroko and Momoi stood at the side, making their own observations.

"Oh look! Ogiwara-kun is here!"

Kuroko looked in the direction his manager was pointing at and spotted his childhood friend, the same time he spotted Kuroko. Most people would've missed seeing Kuroko, what with his weak presence, but not Ogiwara. Being friends with the phantom player since they were young had to count for _something_.

"Kuroko! How've you been? I haven't seen you in ages! We've been so busy with training and all, even after we were beaten by Rakuzan. Man, they were so strong!"

Kuroko smiled at his friend, cheerful and full of spirit as usual.

"Yes, I watched your match," he said. "Maybe next time we can play against each other."

Ogiwara beamed and continued on with the conversation as he delved into some of the recent events happening in his life.

"I brought the drinks," Kise announced as he walked up to them.

"Ah, Ki-chan, thanks!" Momoi chorused as she happily accepted the glass Kise handed to her.

"This is uh... Ogiwara-kun, right?" Kise had only met Kuroko's friend once before, though he supposed that the boy was quite a nice person.

"Yeap! Nice to meet you again, Kise-kun!"

"Thank you," Kuroko said as he took his glass.

"Ki-chan, I think we should go somewhere else and not bother Tetsu-kun and Ogiwara-kun."

"Eh? No, it's fine! You guys aren't bothering us at all!" Ogiwara protested.

Momoi simply shook her head as she looped her arm through Kise's and started leading him away. "You guys need to catch up," she stated before they lost sight of her and the model in the crowd.

"This place is actually kinda full, huh?" Kise mused as he looked around, his arm still looped with Momoi's.

"There were a total of thirty three teams participating; of course it's full!" Momoi said, reciting from her large database of knowledge she had gathered before the tournament.

"Heh, as expected of our manager," Kise grinned.

Momoi stuck her tongue out at him playfully before her expression turned worried. "It's already been an hour since the event started and Dai-chan isn't here yet."

"Already an hour, huh. Well, Aominecchi has a habit of being tardy, so I wouldn't worry too much about it, but let me call him."

Kise was just about to press the call button on his phone when it rang – a call from Aomine.

"Oh, look. He called," he said as he put the phone to his ear. "Aominecchi? You're late, where are you?"

Kise waited for a response, but was met with silence. Just as he was about speak again, a voice came through the line.

"_Hey, blondie._"

. . .

Aomine walked along the pavement, his pace slightly quicker than usual as his fingers flew across the screen of his phone, typing out a message to Kise. He was late, and he knew he'd get an earful from Momoi when he got there, so it was best to avoid sending the text to _her_. The event hall was just about two blocks away, and if he kept up this pace he'd be there within five minutes. _All good_, he thought.

With his attention focused on the screen in front of him, Aomine didn't notice the figure standing in his way until they almost collided.

"Oh, sorry," he said before moving around the stranger.

"You're Aomine-kun, right?"

Aomine stopped at this and turned around, looking at the face of the boy who stood in front of him. After a brief moment of running through his memories, he decided that he didn't know the person.

"Who're you?"

The stranger smiled. "My name's Fukuda, and I'm a friend of Kise-kun."

"Oh, really? So what do you want?"

"I need you to come with me for a moment, if you don't mind."

"Ah, sorry," Aomine turned around and waved him off. "I'm late for something, maybe next time," he said as he started walking forward.

"No, I really, _really_ need you to come now," Fukuda said, a hint of malicious glee in his voice.

Aomine stopped again, this time because he realized that there were two other people standing in his way, and another two were walking towards him from the sides. He was surrounded. Putting his phone away, Aomine turned to face Fukuda.

_So that's how it is_.

. . .

Kise sprinted across the grassy land, expression panicked, breathing shallow. About five minutes ago, he'd received a call from Aomine's phone, but the caller wasn't the boy himself – it was Fukuda.

Kise had never felt more fear than what he did in that moment.

He was told that Aomine was waiting for him. _In that abandoned warehouse, near Suzuran_, Fukuda had said. Suzuran was a school about three blocks away from the dinner event, and Kise wasted no time in hastily explaining the situation – saying that Aomine had called for help – to Momoi before bolting out of the hall in the direction of the warehouse.

It wasn't before long that the rest of the team had caught up to him after hearing a brief explanation from Momoi. They were moving across the woods behind Suzuran as Kise led the way to where Aomine was said to be. It was already dark, and the mess of weeds and unkempt trees made it even harder to navigate. It had been more than a year since Kise had been around the general area of Suzuran - the last time was when he'd visited a friend, Serizawa, who was head of the Suzuran gang.

After what seemed like years of blindly stumbling through the woods, the old warehouse came into sight. Kise's heart pounded as he pushed open the doors with a loud creak, all the while praying that it was just a nightmare and that nothing had happened to Aomine. Of course, the cold, hard reality struck when he saw his teammate slumped against wall on the far side of the otherwise empty building. His heart dropped, and it was all he could do to stand and stare. The blond's limbs felt like lead, his mind went numb. Only his vision remained sharp, and that wasn't even a good thing.

He wished he could forget what he saw. Forget seeing Aomine's bloodied form in that dark place. Forget knowing everyone and everything in that moment. It was his fault. Aomine was lying there because of him, and he couldn't do anything about it.

Momoi was crying. She was kneeling next to Aomine, holding onto his hand. Kuroko was beside her, shock and fear evident on his face. Murasakibara and Akashi stood by, ready to help as Midorima put first-aid knowledge to use, checking for response from the motionless boy.

"He's breathing," Midorima confirmed. "Call for help."

With the atmosphere dark and people frantic, Akashi dialed for an ambulance and provided the necessary details as quickly as possible as the rest watched on. Then, they heard a soft groan coming from the injured boy.

"Dai-chan!" Momoi cried frantically.

Aomine lifted his head, sweeping his eyes across, taking in the scene. _I feel like shit_, he thought. _What am I doing here?_

Then it all came back to him. He remembered how he was surrounded by a group of idiots, and had been forced to follow them to some warehouse. They spoke for a while, then he was going to leave, but they stopped him. _Oh, that's right, I got beat up._

The lids of his eyes were weighing down, but before he fell back into the darkness, his gaze fell on Kise who stood by the entrance, the pale moonlight casting a long, dark shadow of his tall build, seemingly reflecting the gloomy mood. The guilt and fear that clouded the model's eyes was the last thing Aomine saw before he blacked out again.

. . .

"He's going to have to stay in the hospital for a week or so to recover, but otherwise it's fine. You guys are lucky there was no irreversible damage done."

"Thank you, doctor," Akashi nodded as the man left the room.

Aomine lay asleep on the bed in the crowded room. The whole team was there, the tension that previously suffocated the room was gone now that the doctor had cleared up the situation. He was fine. Their ace was fine, and he was going to recover well.

"I think you should all go home and get some rest," Akashi said. "It's already past midnight. The doctor said Daiki shouldn't wake up before tomorrow morning, so don't worry about not being here."

The others, except Momoi and Kise, nodded in agreement before heading towards the door.

"Momoi-san?" Kuroko called.

The girl was seated by the bed, her small hand clutching Aomine's larger one. Kuroko's jacket was draped around her shoulders, expression distraught, eyes were red from crying. It was clear that the worried girl was reluctant to leave her best friend's side.

"Aomine-kun will be alright," he reassured her as he held out a hand. "Come on, you need to rest."

Finally, Momoi stood up and took Kuroko's hand, knowing that staying on wouldn't be of any help to Aomine. She gave one last concerned look at her best friend lying on the bed before following the others out.

"Ryouta, what are you doing?" Akashi stopped at the door. "You should go as well."

Kise stood at the same corner he had been at since they entered the room, his gaze fixed on the floor. A long silence followed before he finally looked up.

"Akashicchi… I'm going to stay the night. It's not like anyone's expecting me to go home, so I'm fine," he said quietly.

"Ryouta, you still… Nevermind, I understand. Please, at least get some rest here," Akashi relented before he left.

After the door closed with a soft click, Kise finally moved from his corner to the seat that Momoi had previously occupied. He sat there silently, eyes never leaving the face of his teammate. Aomine's lips were split, his right eye swollen, and the rest of his face covered in small cuts and bruises.

"I'm sorry," he whispered, taking Aomine's hand in his but careful not to grip it too tightly in fear of waking the sleeping boy. Kise closed his eyes and lay his head on his arm, taking Akashi's advice to get some rest.

"It's okay."

Kise's eyes shot open as he looked up and saw that Aomine was awake.

"Aominecchi…"

"It's alright, Kise. I don't really know what's going on with your life, but it's apparent that you're in some kind of trouble."

"I'm–"

"We all know, Kise. Your behavior has changed, you're more detached than usual, and you don't focus as much during practice and matches. Even though I don't admit it in front of the others, I notice those changes as well. I just thought that if you didn't want to talk about it, then I wouldn't either. So like I said, it's fine. I don't know what you got yourself into, or why those people beat me up, but if you're not ready to explain now, don't, because I understand. Besides, it's not like I'm damaged too badly. Give me a while and I'll be up and ready to kick their asses. We're all going to be here to help you, Kise. Don't forget that." Aomine tried a weak smile. "I don't blame you for this, but just remember to ask for help if you need it, idiot."

Kise stared wordlessly at Aomine, his mind registering all that had been said. He'd always known that this team would be behind him. He knew they cared. He knew that they would always help him. He knew they only wanted the best for him. He always knew, but after hearing those words from Aomine, now he _knew_.

Kise buried his face in his arms on the bed, his grip on Aomine's hand tightening as he struggled with the flood threatening to flow out of his eyes.

"Aominecchi…"

. . .

Kise woke just before sunrise, and Aomine was still fast asleep. He stood and stretched, making sure his muscles were loose and ready for the day ahead. Last night, right after they'd found Aomine, he had decided that it had to come to an end: the gang, him, Fukuda – all of it. It might've been fine if they had harassed him and only him, but now that they had dragged his team into this, had _hurt_ his teammate… everything changed.

He took one last look at his teammate before walking out of the room. Someone had to be responsible for his friend's injuries, and Kise was determined to make them pay – painfully.

* * *

**AUTHOR'S NOTE**

Okay, this chapter was late, and I apologize. I was pretty busy for a while, so I couldn't finish it in time and I thought that instead of rushing to update and forcing it, I'd just postpone the update. Oh and, just a heads up – the next chapter _might_ be late as well. Terribly sorry.

Anyway, I hope this is good enough to compensate for the long wait. Also thank you for the reviews! Plume, right on the money as usual. And BlankAngel, hello, welcome and thank you; your comments are actually so adorable.

Enjoy!


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